John Buck JV Spending $650M

If
you like flying first-class, the Yotel hotel chain says you’ll love
their hotel rooms, designed to resemble aerial sleepers (minus the
turbulance and crying infants, we think). And some may come to your city
soon: The hip London-based Yotel formed a partnership with John Buck Co to invest $650M to buy and/or build several North American Yotels.

Look for small guest rooms, luxury amenities, large common areas, and low rates. Yotel CEO Gerard Greene (above... right), who founded the company with Simon Woodroffe, created the concept that features 170 SF “cabins” that yield about 30% more keys than a traditional hotel. Yotel director of acquisitions and US development Jason Brown tells us that Yotel tapped Buck after watching Chicago’s own in action for several years. Buck’s experience and Yotel’s innovativeconcept will help the partners raise a $250M fund and invest $650M in six to 10 US deals in key gateway cities. High on the list: Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Miami, LA, and DC, Jason says.

Within the next 12 months, the partners hope to start developing two hotels in the US, either renovations or new construction. Jason says that these smaller rooms are less expensive to build because of their design and furnishings. They’re more profitable than traditional hotels on a PSF basis and allow Yotel to charge lower-than-usual luxury room rates. So far, the company has opened four Yotels
near London, Amsterdam, and in NYC. Rooms may be small but don't lack
features, like Wi-Fi and towel warmers. Its target: the tech savvy,
young-at-heart (though they do not require an EKG before you check in).